This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.



Environmental chemistry is an interdisciplinary field of study that involves the science of ecology as well as chemistry. Environmental chemistry covers the basic chemistry and biochemistry that occur naturally in the world around us. It focuses on the air, water, and land. Environmental science normally begins by determining the chemical reactions that are occurring in the environment when all systems are in balance and then goes on the discover how chemistry has changed when there is an imbalance caused by stress or pollution. The field is constantly changing, with new discoveries being made all the time. The availability of new and more sensitive instruments in analytical science is enabling the detection of smaller and smaller concentrations of pollutants in the environment. This new volume deals with a host of important topics in environmental chemistry, such as pesticide-related illnesses in humans and plants, the effects of litterfall in the soil of tropical forests, toxicants in various bodies of water, and much more.